06/09/2026
CONSERVATION CORNER: Grounded Geese
Geese
By Dan Zarlenga, Missouri Department of Conservation
Photo caption: A gaggle of grounded geese during their annual June molt “layover”.
Photo by Dan Zarlenga, Missouri Department of Conservation.
Certain first-class fliers in the bird world must settle for coach accommodations during the month of June! And there’s no shortage of irritated complaining customers either.
Even the best aircraft must be grounded every so often to receive a repair or refit. That is exactly what’s happening with Canada geese this month.
You’ve seen them in wetlands, by ponds, and even in park and subdivision lakes— distinguished by their brownish bodies, long, black necks and heads. They have a distinctive broad white patch that runs from ear to ear. The insistent honking of Canada geese is as unmistakable as the whine of a jet turbine.
Normally Canada geese stand out in flight by forming graceful “v”-shaped formations in the air as they honk their way across the sky. For a time in June, however, nature pulls their boarding passes.
After a year of migration, nesting, territorial disputes, and daily flight, their feathers become frayed and worn. Continuing to fly on faulty wings does not pass nature’s safety checklist.
Songbirds maintain their flight feathers by shedding and replacing them gradually throughout the year. Canada geese do it differently. Once a year they shed their primary flight feathers all at once and are literally grounded for several weeks. It’s called molting, and for a four-to-six-week period these geese are birds that can’t fly.
During the annual “layover”, Canada geese find accommodations in areas with open water and ample food. Manicured turf around suburban ponds and lakes is essentially a five-star hotel for them. Sustenance remains within easy reach, and the water provides an escape path from potential predators when the sky is off limits to the geese.
As any frequent flyer can attest, sitting on the runway unable to take off can make one pretty irritable. The same is true for Canada geese. Already known for their cantankerous behavior, geese can become even more aggressive during molt. And they often hiss out their displeasure to any passerby.
It’s best to avoid them while they’re in such a bad humor.
For Missouri Department of Conservation biologists though, the geese’s temporary flightlessness creates an opportunity. Late June is banding time. MDC biologists and volunteers conduct “goose round-ups” by herding the flightless birds into netted areas and placing leg bands on them. This yields important data for management and tracking their population and movements.
Meanwhile, nature is hard at work refitting the stranded birds with refurbished wings. Evolution has made this repair job a high priority, and the geese sprout a full set of completely new flight feathers in remarkably short order.
By mid-July, the flock will have taken to the sky again, carried aloft on a set of freshly-refitted wings. They’re now ready for another 11 months of uninterrupted flying.
For a species that must surrender the sky each June, Canada geese prove remarkably successful at reclaiming it.
